Friday on My Mind: Super Bowl

It’s time again for Friday on My Mind. Our weekly blog post where we look at videos centered around one common theme. This is a collaborative effort between KEXP and King 5 News. As the 2013 Super Bowl nears, we’re looking at Super Bowl related songs and performances.

The game was created as part of a merger agreement between the NFL and its then-rival league, the American Football League (AFL). It was agreed that the two leagues’ champion teams would play in an AFL–NFL World Championship Game until the merger was to officially begin in 1970. After the merger, each league was re-designated as a “conference”, and the game was then played between the conference champions. Currently, the National Football Conference (NFC) leads the series with 25 wins to 21 wins for the American Football Conference (AFC). The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather than the year in which it is held. The winning team receives the Vince Lombardi Trophy, named after the coach of the Green Bay Packers, who won the first two Super Bowl games and three of the five preceding NFL championships in 1961, 1962, and 1965. Following his death in September 1970, the trophy was named the Vince Lombardi Trophy, and was first awarded as such to the Baltimore Colts following their win in Super Bowl V in Miami. The Pittsburgh Steelers have won six Super Bowls, the most of any team; the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers have five victories each; and both the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants have four Super Bowl championships “Super Bowl Sunday” is the second-largest day for U.S. food consumption, after Thanksgiving Day. As well it draws an average audience of 111 million viewers. Thirteen other NFL franchises have won at least one Super Bowl. Ten teams have appeared in Super Bowl games without a win. The Minnesota Vikings were the first team to have lost a record four times without a win. Four teams (the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Houston Texans) have never appeared in a Super Bowl. Early Super Bowls featured a halftime show consisting of marching bands from local colleges or high schools; but as the popularity of the game increased, a trend where popular singers and musicians performed during its pre-game ceremonies and the halftime show, or simply sang the national anthem of the United States, emerged. Unlike regular season or playoff games, thirty minutes are allocated for the Super Bowl halftime. The first halftime show to have featured only one star performer was Michael Jackson during Super Bowl XXVII in 1993. The NFL specifically went after him to increase viewership and to continue expanding the Super Bowl’s reputation. Here are a few other Super Bowl music moments…

Prince – Purple Rain as performed at the 2007 Super Bowl Half Time Show

Considered one of the best half time performances in recent years. During his performance he also gave his take on familiar favorites such as “We Will Rock You,” “Proud Mary” and “All Along The Watchtower”.

Paul McCartney – 2005 Super Bowl Performance

For Super Bowl XXXIX when the new England Patriots went up against the Philadelphia Eagles. Patriots won 24 to 21. McCartney’s set list included “Drive My Car”, “Get Back”, “Live and Let Die”, and “Hey Jude”

The Chicago Bears – The Superbowl Shuffle

“Super Bowl Shuffle” was recorded by the Chicago Bears back in 1985. Awful. Just Awful. It was nominated for a Grammy but lost to Prince’s “Kiss”. This sold a more than half a million copies and all of the proceeds went to charity.